Indonesia’s Unrelenting Anti-LGBT Campaign

Continuing a campaign of anti-LGBT vitriol that began in January, the Youth and Sports Ministry has banned lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from entering the selection process for the “Creative Youth Ambassador” – a nation-wide effort to select a group of young people to promote creativity and competitiveness.

“We require someone physically and mentally healthy, not involved in promiscuity and sexually deviant behavior, including LGBT, which should be proven through a doctor’s certificate,” reads the ministry’s notice.

The Youth Ministry’s announcement this week also echoes another menacing development allegedly aimed at tackling youth unemployment – a defense ministry and military-run training program called “Bela Negara,” which surfaced in 2016, and seeks to train citizens to defend the nation against “proxy wars” and “perceived threats such as communism, drugs and homosexuality.”